It’s time to bring out your spring/summer shoes, and if you weren’t quite careful enough when putting them away, they may need a little love to look good again. In this newsletter, we’re giving you a whole range of eco-friendly tips for this!

A quick note: these are tips for rescuing shoes that have become worn and are no longer looking their best. If you have new and very expensive shoes that need care, you should contact the store where you bought them.

These tips are about “saving your shoes instead of throwing them away,” not shoe care for exclusive shoes.

What you need:

- Soft soap of the superfatting type
- Nail brush, preferably with natural fibers
- Cloth
- Baking soda
- Vinegar
- Paper/newspaper to cover the surface with. Clean the shoe with soap.

* The products are available to buy here

1. Scrub with soap—Start by removing all greasy dirt, such as asphalt stains.

The easiest way to do this is to use a small brush. Here, we use a small natural-fiber nail brush that will not damage the shoe, and Västerbottenssåpa.

Won’t just any soap do? Almost! It must be a superfat soap, such as linseed oil soap or Västerbottenssåpa; it is the fat in the soap that dissolves difficult greasy dirt, such as asphalt stains.

Use lukewarm water and soap on the brush and scrub carefully in all the seams, especially the stains. Wipe with a damp cloth.

2. Wipe off all the foam with a damp cloth.

3. Take an ordinary eraser, a school eraser.

If the sole is white, you should definitely choose a white eraser. If there are still stains on the plastic and rubber parts, go over them with the eraser now.

4. Discolored fabric parts.

Do you have fabric parts of the shoe that have not become completely clean with the soap? Then it is time for the baking soda. NOTE! Baking soda has a bleaching effect! Do not do this on dark or colored shoes, as the baking soda may bleach the fabric. On white shoes, apply a generous amount of baking soda—we used one teaspoon.

– Soak the stain with vinegar; it will start to bubble! 

– Let the shoes dry with the baking soda on them! When the shoe is completely dry, you can brush it off or take it outside and knock the shoes against each other. The baking soda and dirt will come off, “dusting off” the shoe. – If the shoe is very damp and is losing its shape, make balls out of newspaper and fill the shoe; let it dry with the paper inside.

5. Time for the shoelaces.

Get your laces white again Now it is time for the shoelaces. WHITE shoelaces, because as we mentioned earlier, baking soda has a bleaching effect. Put the shoelaces in a bowl with high sides and pour in lukewarm water.

– Add a splash of vinegar. (It depends on how much water you have, but a couple of tablespoons in a bowl like the one in the picture—approximately 3.5 dl of water + 3 tbsp of vinegar). Then add baking soda. Start with one teaspoon and make sure it does not bubble over. If more is needed, add another teaspoon. It should bubble vigorously for a while.

– Leave the shoelaces in the mixture for at least an hour. Hang the laces up to dry without rinsing them. Once they are dry, shake them vigorously outdoors and they will be like new again!

EXTRA TIPS

If the insole is completely worn down and ruined, replace it with a new one.

If the shoe smells bad, dampen a paper towel with vinegar and leave it in the shoe overnight.
If the shoe has lost its shape, make balls out of newspaper and fill the shoe while it is damp. Tie the shoe and let it dry with the paper inside.

Generally stale-smelling shoe interior – put one to two tablespoons of baking soda in the shoe, shake it around, and leave it overnight. Empty out the baking soda the next morning, and the shoe will immediately feel much fresher.

As a last resort, you can put the shoes in the washing machine, BUT this is at your own risk and should only be done when “all hope is lost” of getting the shoe clean any other way. There is a high risk that the shoes will be damaged if washed in a machine.

Thank you for taking the time to read this blog!
It was written by Västerbottenssåpa, Sara Idenfors.

All products are eco-friendly and can be ordered here: Västerbottenssåpa